OH BOY! My kid and I are going to have a field day, well, at least I will unless I get him a lolly beforehand, when Stella McCartney’s children’s wear collection launches November 2nd at the Gap. I can picture him now rocking the great little band jacket and skinny jeans. How unbelievably fabulous, but what about me? I want that jacket too! The girls leopard animal print dress is absolutely adorable and all the pink tutu loving darlings will be in girly heaven! Shout out a “hip hip hooray”, do a McCartneywheel and mark your calendars mommas!
I am just as excited for Nicole Ritchie’s line, Winter Kate, to drop in major dept stores and boutiques in February. Amongst all the celebrities coming out with their own clothing and accessories lines, I think Ritchie has a good eye (of course, I’m sure Rachel Zoe had a huge influence on her aesthetics) for fashion. Ladies, mark your calendars again!
Read some of my highlighted articles from today’s WWD below.
–Nikki Cho Russo
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A shot from the campaign for Stella McCartney??™s first children??™s collections for GapKids and babyGap. Photo By Ryan McGinley
Stella McCartney is yet again expanding her brand??™s reach ??” and her latest target audience is the grade-school set.
McCartney??™s first full children??™s wear collections, done in collaboration with GapKids and babyGap, will be launched Nov. 2 at select Gap stores in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France and Japan. The 70-piece line, which McCartney said she designed to ???find a kind of balance between Stella as in what I do for adults??¦and how I see kids, really,??? takes inspiration from both the design signature McCartney has developed in her own collections and her practical experience as a mother of three.
???I guess I tackled it in the same way I would one of my own ready-to-wear collections, but then the challenge was, ???OK, I??™ve got to get into the same mind-set of a kid and what they might like,??™??? said McCartney as she stood on the sidelines of the campaign shoot for the collection ??” which stars a host of children posing with baby animals ??” at a London studio in late summer. ???It??™s quite a good thing to have kids when you??™re designing a kids??™ collection, to be aware that they actually have their own point of view.???
To wit, McCartney made sure the fabrics she??™s used in the collection ??” such as organic cotton, cashmere and wool ??” aren??™t ???scratchy,??? and has incorporated fun elements to entice children as much as their parents. A T-shirt printed with a superhero design ??” which McCartney??™s four-year-old son Miller approved ??” and a pair of white high-top sneakers can both be customized with a set of colored markers sold alongside the garments. There are also pajamas that come in a dinosaur-print bag for boys, along with tulle tutu skirts in caramel and pistachio and a faded mint silk party dress embroidered with silk flowers for girls. (The collection??™s sizes run from newborn to children up to age 12).
But practical pieces feature in the collection, too, such as a navy wool peacoat and organic denim jeans for boys and silk collarless shirts and organic cotton T-shirts for girls. ???I think in kids??™ wear a lot of the time they give one point of view??¦and that??™s not how kids are,??? said McCartney. ???You want to mix and match, otherwise kids look too twee or too streety.???
And in keeping with McCartney??™s vegetarian principles, the shoes she??™s designed, which include sneakers and shiny gray rain boots, are all made without leather. ???A big part of the excitement for me was not just the clothes but the shoes,??? said McCartney. ???Because so many people had said to me, ???I can??™t get shoes for my kids that aren??™t leather.??™???
Meanwhile, some of the pieces are mini-me versions of designs from McCartney??™s rtw collections. There??™s a gray sweater dress knit with an intarsia leopard design ??” which appeared full-size in the designer??™s fall 2009 collection ??” along with skinny gray jeans with ankle zippers and a snug gray cable-knit cardigan dress.
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A Winter Kate jacket layered over a camisole and vest with House of Harlow 1960 accessories.
Photo By Raquel Olivo
A Winter Kate jacket layered over a camisole and vest with House of Harlow 1960 accessories. Photo By Raquel Olivo.
LOS ANGELES ??” Nicole Richie has a new baby and a new contemporary women??™s clothing line.
The label, Winter Kate, which will debut in spring, expands a fashion business that already includes the accessories line House of Harlow 1960 and a maternity collection, Nicole for A Pea in the Pod.
The 37-piece Winter Kate line, which takes her daughter Harlow??™s two middle names, will hit stores such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale??™s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ron Herman, Intermix and Kitson, beginning in February.
???It feels as though I??™ve always been working on this collection, but officially I started putting it together in early 2009,??? said Richie, who is lying low at home after the birth last month of her son, Sparrow. ???I??™ve wanted to design a clothing collection for a very long time.???
Richie, who has become known for her eclectic bohemian style with a Sixties and Seventies flair, said she has torn fashion pages out of magazines for years and also draws inspiration from her favorite animals, including peacocks and other birds.
The line includes mostly tops, vests and bed jackets in colorful vintage-inspired silk, crepe and chiffon because these tops are a mainstay of Richie??™s own wardrobe.
???I probably wear the same two pairs of jeans every day as the background to a fabulous top,??? she said. ???Bed jackets are a staple of my wardrobe because they are a gorgeous way to give jeans and a white T-shirt a completely different look.???
Also key for spring dressing are ???definitely a beautiful, fun slip dress in a great print and also a leather jacket to turn the romantic day dress into an edgy night-out outfit,??? Richie said.
Her collection includes long slip dresses, asymmetrical short dresses, tunics and a kimono-sleeved, maxidress, which are meant to be layered with vests in cotton macram?©, suede or silk, or a shrunken leather jacket.
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The scene on Seventh Avenue Wednesday. Photo By John Aquino
Diane von Furstenberg and Yoehlee Teng on Seventh Avenue Wednesday. Photo By: John Aquino
???This is the game changer.???
That??™s how Yeohlee Teng summed up Wednesday??™s Save the Garment Center rally that drew 750 supporters including Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg, Nanette Lepore, Elie Tahari and other designers onto Seventh Avenue to raise awareness of the New York neighborhood??™s plight.
???This will change the conversation with the city,??? Teng said after the event. ???It won??™t just be about square footage anymore. It will be about issues that are more indicative of what is going on now ??” saving jobs, being American and cultural identities.???
Several of the 16 speakers hammered home the need to protect American workers, to market a Made in New York label and to give domestic companies tax incentives to keep production in the city. The Council of Fashion Designers of America??™s executive director, Steven Kolb, helped round up a battalion of designers including Marcus Wainwright, Doo-Ri Chung, Chris Benz, Maria Cornejo, Victoria Bartlett and Charles Nolan. Supporters did their part, waving ???Save the Garment Center??? and ???It??™s Sew N.Y.??? signs, and shouting their cause when prompted by fiery leaders like Workers United??™s Bruce Raynor and Edgar Romney.
Before activists took to the stage set up at Seventh Avenue and 39th Street, Romney said Wednesday??™s rally was the first time in his 43-year tenure that industry workers, union members and designers had come together. As one of the leaders who first urged former Mayor Ed Koch to secure six million square feet in the area for apparel manufacturing, Romney told the crowd he was ???a bit perplexed??? to be standing there again. Today, there are 4,500 to 5,000 union workers in the garment center compared with five years ago when there were 12,000 to 13,000, Romney said. The apparel industry is New York City??™s second-largest employer behind the financial sector ??” a statistic not lost on City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Michael Kors, Nanette Lepore and Elie Tahari on Seventh Avenue Wednesday. Photo By: John Aquino
???If there is one thing that we should have clearly learned this year.??¦We cannot base New York City??™s entire economy on two industries: Wall Street and real estate. Those industries are important ??” those people wear clothes??¦??? she said. ???But we need a diversified economy in New York City, so when there is a Wall Street setback it doesn??™t become a massive problem in our city.???
For the past few years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg??™s administration has been trying to iron out rezoning, with the latest proposal being contain the bulk of the industry??™s tenants to a 270,000-square-foot building at 270 West 38th Street. With Bloomberg vying for a third term and the election just a few weeks away, talks have picked up a bit.
Bloomberg??™s mayoral rival, William Thompson, said, ???Government needs to step up to do its part. We need to stand up and save the garment center now. Instead of giving tax breaks to Yankee Stadium, which only employs part-time ushers, let??™s save the garment center.???
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Ben-Avraham and Vettori Create New Brand
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A look from Improvd. Photo By John Aquino
Sam Ben-Avraham and Valentino Vettori are hoping to bring some improvement to contemporary fashion.
That??™s why Ben-Avraham, owner and founder of Atrium stores and the Project trade show, and Vettori, owner of the Scatola showroom in New York, put their heads together and came up with a new brand ??” Improvd, launching for spring selling.
???These days, selling these high-end collections can be tough,??? Ben-Avraham explained. ???I really had the need to see something different, but it??™s hard to find a collection that has a great look, value and price all in one.???
Improvd consists of a full range of sportswear ??” washed leather jackets and vests in colors such as tan, black, light blue or dusty pink; printed and solid T-shirts, wraps and T-shirt dresses; a full denim jeans collection; cotton knit dresses for both day and evening; jumpsuits, and a full collection of viscose scarves. The collection, which is made from European fabrics and produced in China, wholesales from $19 for a T-shirt to $200 for a leather jacket. The scarves, which come in a range of colors to work with the sportswear, wholesale for $29.
Tags: Ben-Avraham, Gap, Improvd, Nicole Ritche, Stella McCartney, Vettori, Winter Kate
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